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Friday, December 30, 2011

The Incredible Variety of Tungsten Carbide Rings

By Haven Meriman

Some tungsten rings may have different types of edges such as round edges or ridges for a cool look. You can even choose a tungsten ring in different levels of color ranging from dark gray to light gray. Tungsten carbide rings and jewelry will not show flaws and will resist wear better than other types of metals.

Tungsten is ten times harder than the strongest gold, five times harder than steel and four times harder than titanium. These rings and other types of tungsten jewelry should hold its shape for your lifetime. Tungsten is a heavy metal and it will not bend. Prices vary for tungsten rings and jewelry but there are a lot of affordable pieces on the market today.

If a piece of jewelry, such as a ring, is sold strictly as tungsten only, then it is basically just a steel ring. Tungsten without carbide can be scratched. Tungsten carbide rings and jewelry should not scratch because the element of carbide is present. If you purchase what you believe to be a tungsten carbide ring but the ring has been carved then it isn't a true tungsten carbide ring.

Tungsten was discovered in the late 1700's and was known back then as wolfram. After a bit of work and some very tedious experiments for several years scientists concluded that this new substance could be used to make a new metal. In 1783 two brothers, Jose and Fausto Elhuyar found an acid in wolframite that was similar to the one found in tungstic acid and were thus able to isolate the tungsten by reducing the acid in it with charcoal. The brothers are recognized as the ones who discovered the element of tungsten.

During the Second World War, tungsten was very important. Portugal had a lot of wolframite ores that were used to make tungsten. Due to these ores Portugal had pressure put on it from both sides of fighting. These ores were beneficial in making tungsten for materials used for weapons.